Obama Catches a Break From Nuclear Deal With Iran

Staff / Truthdig Nov 25, 2013 Since things on the domestic front aren't exactly rosy for President Obama, the weekend's breakthrough in international diplomacy, in the form of the early-morning deal struck by the U.S., Iran and five other key nations to reconfigure Iran's nuclear program comes as a much-needed boost. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

The Little Boson That Wasn’t

Alexander Reed Kelly / Truthdig Nov 15, 2012 Physicists worldwide are majorly bummed to learn that the new particle discovered this year that supposedly meant a big change in the way we understand the building blocks of our universe is merely “the simplest -- and most boring -- variety of Higgs boson.” Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Chasing Down the ‘God Particle’

Staff / Truthdig Dec 13, 2011 Do you know the story of the Higgs boson? It is also called the "God particle" in scientific circles, although certain conservatives would probably not approve, and it has been a kind of physicists' Holy Grail for decades. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

U.S. to Huddle With Iran on Its Nuclear Plans

Staff / Truthdig Sep 30, 2009 American diplomats are gearing up to carefully broach the topic of Tehran's nuclear program with their Iranian counterparts during a summit on the subject in Geneva on Thursday, thus potentially going further than President Obama had been able to venture in earlier negotiation efforts. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Incredible Shrinking Audience

Staff / Truthdig Apr 21, 2009 Clearly, several dozen delegates at the United Nations anti-racism conference in Geneva, Switzerland, disagreed with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's assessment of Israel as a "racist government" on Monday. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Where’s Rev. Wright When You Need Him?

Chris Hedges / Truthdig Apr 20, 2009 Israel and the United States will together boycott the United Nations World Conference Against Racism in Geneva. Racism, an endemic feature of Israeli and American society, is not, we have decided, open for international inspection. It's times like this President Obama would do well to heed the sermons of his former pastor. Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

New Hope in the Fight Against AIDS

Staff / Truthdig Dec 1, 2008 World AIDS Day turns 20 today, and while we still don't have a vaccine, researchers continue to make lifesaving breakthroughs. A team at the World Health Organization in Geneva recently came up with a "thought experiment" that, according to a mathematical model, could end the AIDS epidemic in Africa in only a decade. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Clooney Raises $900K for Obama in Switzerland

Staff / Truthdig Sep 5, 2008 He might have steered clear of last week's Democratic National Convention, claiming that politicians were the proper stars of that show, but George Clooney didn't miss his chance to charm some $900K out of American supporters of Barack Obama at a fundraiser in Switzerland on Tuesday. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Romney Hazy on Torture Definition

Staff / Truthdig Jan 15, 2008 CNN's ubiquitous anchor Wolf Blitzer point-blanked Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney last weekend about what exactly constitutes torture and whether techniques like waterboarding are ever defensible, but Romney deferred to the popular national security rationale, implying that in "ticking time bomb" circumstances, a president may elect to use certain unpopular techniques. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Red Cross Condemns Torture Bill

Staff / Truthdig Oct 20, 2006 The International Committee of the Red Cross will contact the White House to address concerns over U.S. torture policy's compliance with the Geneva Conventions. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Bush Transfers High-Value Prisoners to Gitmo

Staff / Truthdig Sep 6, 2006 The AP is reporting that the president is transferring 14 key terrorist leaders, including Khalid Sheik Mohammed, above, from secret CIA custody to the U.S. military-run prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to be prepared for eventual trials. The prisoners will apparently be afforded some rights consistent with the Geneva conventions. Yeah, well, Bush also signed a bill in December outlawing the torture of detainees, and then made a "signing statement" announcing his intention to flout that law. So excuse us for being cynical about the president's motives and intentions here. UPDATE: Former DOJ lawyer and law prof Marty Lederman says Bush's new bill actually authorizes "enhanced interrogation techniques." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Army Finally Bans Torture

Staff / Truthdig Sep 6, 2006 Yielding to pressure from humanitarian groups, Congress and the Supreme Court, the U.S. Army will release a new field manual that affords all detainees protection from torture under the Geneva Convention. The new document will ban several ?interrogation? methods that have drawn criticism, including simulated drowning and the use of dogs to terrorize detainees. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )